NC President Farooq Abdullah Urges Govt to Review MLA’s PSA Detention

Srinagar 11 September :- In a significant intervention, National Conference president and former Chief Minister J&K Dr. Farooq Abdullah issued a dual appeal concerning the detention of Doda MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA), urging both government restraint and personal responsibility from the legislator.

While unequivocally condemning Malik’s recent misbehaviour with the Deputy Commissioner of Doda as “regrettable and avoidable,” Abdullah argued that the government’s response was disproportionately severe. He expressed deep regret over the incident, noting that a timely apology from the MLA could have averted the crisis, stating, “It is unfortunate that the MLA’s behaviour with the DC was not up to the mark. The situation would not have reached this critical point had he apologized at the right time.

However, the NC chief firmly maintained that invoking the stringent PSA against a democratically elected representative was an unjustified escalation that risked exacerbating tensions in a district already reeling from natural disasters.

Equally, it was wrong to detain him under the Public Safety Act. Doda is already grappling with floods, and now this episode has further engulfed the district,” Abdullah said, highlighting the compound challenges facing the region. To resolve the impasse, he called on the administ

ration to review and revoke the detention order while simultaneously advising MLA Malik to publicly withdraw his offensive remarks in the larger interest of his constituents and for the sake of restoring calm.